vermont casting vigilant

My sister's neighbor is selling his mid 1980's vigilant wood/coal stove. The stove was purchased new by him in the mid 1980 and has been in use in his home every year since. I went over and looked it over lastnight appears to be in pristine condition. He told me that he each spring he cleans it out and lines it with kitty litter to absorb any moisture during the summer then in the fall he cleans all of that out and lines the bottom with sand to insulate the bottom of the stove.

The only reason he is selling it is he is now in his 60's and doesnt want to keep dealing with the wood anymore.

My questions on this are: what is a fair price to pay for one of these stoves? I have noticed them selling from as low as 200 to completed restored at over 1200.00

Is it ok to run these into a 6" metalbestos flue? I have straight up flue right now from my current stove, that runs straight up and out of a two story house 20' I am guessing.

Are these safe to run any more my neighbor indicated that they are known for a lot of chimney fires.

I am currently running the smallest regency out there with a 1.3 cube foot burn box and really am looking to upgrade to a large burner with extended burn times. What are the estimated burn times on this stove, he told me it normally burns a good 8 hrs on a fill and usually cranks out so much heat you cant even sit in the same room the stove is in.

I have no reason to doubt the seller he seems very honest and offered to dig out all his receipts and original paper work to show me he is the type to save every piece of paper.

A fair price is in the $400 range, IMHO......although you do have to check carefully for broken or cracked part, operation of the damper, etc....can cost a bundle if things need done.

I personally would not run it into a 6" flue. If your question is "will it probably work", the answer is yes. But this was designed for a 8" and an older stove like this can make creosote and chimney fires....thereby overheating a smaller flue more than a bigger one, etc.

If you have the choice of buying a new/used stove, I see no reason to get one with a 8" flue. Why not consider something like the big Englander if you are on a budget? You may be able to find a used one too!

I was looking at the englander at the local HD store, and I lost interest in it when no one could tell me how to clean it. The secondary combutions air tubes are either bolted or cotter pinned in place. In order to clean a chimney like mine you would have to remove these air tube to be able to open that area up. I dont see this being practical especially year after year I see the heat causing these to fail very quickly.

I just happened to walk into this deal when visiting with my sister they asked if I knew of anyone that would be intersted in the stove. I figured if the price was right it maybe worth it, and the stove is definately in great shape.

I need to get a larger stove as I want something with an 8-10 hour burn time, my regency is only averaging about 3-4, there is no doub this puts a large dent in my heating bill now I want to take it to the next level and take another chunk out of that bill.

vasten, you can do better than this stove for efficiency, cleaner longer burning. The 30NC is not the only stove to look at. If you are looking to upgrade, maybe post in the main forum for more info on your choices with a more modern stove. The Vigilant was a great stove, but there have been some improvements since 1979.

PE Alderlea T6 - the gentle giant, Jotul 602“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it.” - Mark Twain -
"A poor worker always blames his tools." - Dad

I was looking at the englander at the local HD store, and I lost interest in it when no one could tell me how to clean it. The secondary combutions air tubes are either bolted or cotter pinned in place. In order to clean a chimney like mine you would have to remove these air tube to be able to open that area up. I dont see this being practical especially year after year I see the heat causing these to fail very quickly.

I just happened to walk into this deal when visiting with my sister they asked if I knew of anyone that would be intersted in the stove. I figured if the price was right it maybe worth it, and the stove is definately in great shape.

I need to get a larger stove as I want something with an 8-10 hour burn time, my regency is only averaging about 3-4, there is no doub this puts a large dent in my heating bill now I want to take it to the next level and take another chunk out of that bill.

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The Englander has little bolts that hold the secondary tubes into place.... They are a Great stove and can be had for as little as $650-$700 (on sale).

Do a search up top for "Englander Zip Code Dealio". This will show you where and how its done (prob not available / although I have not checked in awhile).
Here is the link - http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/englander-zip-code-dealio.83640/
But between the 2 stoves mentioned, I would go with the 30..... Its a Solid stove and cranks the heat. Easy to work on and comes with Legs and a pedestal.

The Englander has little bolts that hold the secondary tubes into place.... They are a Great stove and can be had for as little as $650-$700 (on sale).

Do a search up top for "Englander Zip Code Dealio". This will show you where and how its done (prob not available / although I have not checked in awhile).
Here is the link - http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/englander-zip-code-dealio.83640/
But between the 2 stoves mentioned, I would go with the 30..... Its a Solid stove and cranks the heat. Easy to work on and comes with Legs and a pedestal.

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For heaven's sake don't vent a Vigilant into a 6" chimney! It definately MIGHT work, but take a 2nd look at the Englander. Enough other people manage to clean them w/o much trouble, it won't cost much more than the Vig., and it WILL work.

I was surprised at the responses to the englander, If I was going to buy new I was thinking of the largest regency stove The F3100, I really like the stove I have now, but now that I am comfortable with using it time to step up to a larger one. For the money I may just wait and start by moving up to the englander first. I just checked and they are still showing at 899.00 and that includes the blower unit. Thank you for the feed back

I was surprised at the responses to the englander, If I was going to buy new I was thinking of the largest regency stove The F3100, I really like the stove I have now, but now that I am comfortable with using it time to step up to a larger one. For the money I may just wait and start by moving up to the englander first. I just checked and they are still showing at 899.00 and that includes the blower unit. Thank you for the feed back

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It's hard to beat the NC-30 per pound or for value. If price is not the driving factor, you have a LOT of other stoves to consider - including the very fine Woodstock Progress (that will burn a LONG time)......but for $700-900, or in the same range as the vigi used (if you can find one), it's a good comparison.

Pro and cons:
-Produces a lot of heat.
-Eats a lot of wood
-You can get them cheap
-They can gunk up a chimney fast if you don't burn it right
-Expect a 5-6 hour burn when run correctly.

I ran mine with a 6" liner. It ran well that way, but I can't recommend doing it. I think mine ran well and relatively cleanly since I work from home and can constantly check for smoke from the chimney to be sure it is running right.

I need to get a larger stove as I want something with an 8-10 hour burn time

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You will not get that from the Vigilant. You will get a lot more heat from the Vig, but burn times are 5-6 hours.